Chapter 51: The Weather Is About to Change

"Do not move! Committing suicide won't save you!"

Liu Bei roared, stepping out from the rear to the front row.

Zhang Sheng's subordinates looked between Liu Bei and Duan Jiong, and finally lowered the sabers in their hands.

"... Elder Brother, this man has committed grave evils, yet he possesses the loyalty of a comrade-in-arms. Should I kill him?"

Qian Zhao remained silent for a moment, then turned to ask Liu Bei.

Actually, he was asking Duan Jiong...

My Lord, Sovereign—having heard these titles, Qian Zhao naturally knew Duan Jiong's identity was extraordinary, but he did not ask further.

"Zhang Sheng, you will surely die. But your brothers here all show loyalty... If you wipe out all the Xianbei people around you, I will give your brothers a chance."

Liu Bei did not answer directly, instead offering Zhang Sheng a choice.

"Hundred-Rider Colonel! Slay the barbarians!"

Zhang Sheng did not hesitate for even a second, giving the surrounding Xianbei people no time to react. He picked up the spear in front of him and thrust it straight into the Xianbei cavalryman beside him.

A look of astonishment flickered in Liu Bei's eyes.

Zhang Sheng and the commandery soldiers around him showed not a trace of hesitation in slaughtering the barbarians.

With Qian Zhao and Zhang Fei leading and coordinating the troops from the sides, the dozens of Xianbei in the arena were soon completely butchered.

"The barbarians have been slain. Please take my life."

Zhang Sheng dropped his spear once again, but instead of kneeling, he looked back at his brothers with tears streaming down his face. "Do no more foolish things. I, Zhang, deserve a thousand deaths, but you must live on... If you do not survive, who will save my parents, wife, and children..."

"Sima..."

Zhang Sheng's subordinates burst into tears as well.

"Do you know where your family and wife and children are now?"

Liu Bei asked.

"I do not... If I knew, I would have fought to the death to save them long ago. Why else would I live like a dog?!"

Zhang Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood foam. "After I failed in intercepting Chief Commander Zou, knowing my family was surely in danger, I returned to Luoyang, intending to force Wang Fu to reveal their whereabouts. But as soon as I reached Luoyang, I heard that Wang Fu's entire family had been killed..."

"Then why did you come to raid Chief Commander Zou's camp? Why not stay in Luoyang to search for your family?"

Liu Bei also felt that this fellow was indeed pitiful.

"General of the Chariots and Cavalry Dong said... if I could kill Chief Commander Zou, he would return my parents, wife, and children, and also recommend me as the Colonel Protecting the Wuhuan."

Zhang Sheng gave Liu Bei a sorrowful look. "I knew this might be a lie, but I... had no choice."

The General of the Chariots and Cavalry Dong was Dong Chong, the younger brother of Empress Dowager Dong, currently serving as the General of the Chariots and Cavalry, commanding the Huben imperial guards and holding military power in Luoyang.

Liu Bei nodded and sighed. "So you are saying your superior officer giving the orders is Dong Chong?"

"No, previously I always followed Wang Fu's direct orders... But now only Dong Chong knows where Yu'er is! My parents, wife, and children were all taken away by the Huben guards!"

Zhang Sheng's eyes were filled with hatred. "I want to tear him limb from limb, yet I... cannot kill him!"

"... Then go on your way."

Duan Jiong tossed the saber in his hand in front of Zhang Sheng. "The kin of my clan, I will go save them. The enemy of my clan... I will go kill them!"

Zhang Sheng kowtowed three times toward Duan Jiong, picked up the saber, and knelt upright.

"My Lord... Sinner Zhang Sheng, though a subject of Han, colluded with the Xianbei... Although forced by circumstances, my crime is unforgivable! Sheng... acknowledges his crime and accepts the law!"

With that, he violently twisted the saber in his hand across his neck.

A great burst of blood sprayed onto the instep of Duan Jiong's boots.

It also splattered onto Qian Zhao and Liu Bei.

Qian Zhao lowered his head, sighed, and then looked at Liu Bei, unmistakable bewilderment in his eyes.

"Zijing, immediately deliver Zhang Sheng's head to Chief Commander Zou. Tell him that this matter is a joint plot by the consort kin and eunuchs to seize military power in the borderlands, and let Chief Commander Zou decide what to do... By the way, tell him you have wiped out all one hundred Xianbei cavalry, and the grievance of his personal retainers being waylaid has been avenged by you."

Liu Bei patted Qian Zhao on the back, then reached out and raised his head. "This sky... is going to change."

A light rain began to fall from the night sky.

The rainy season had arrived.

Qian Zhao glanced at Duan Jiong, then at Liu Bei, and asked, "How should I mention... Mr. Ji to Chief Commander Zou?"

"There is no need to mention me."

Duan Jiong shook his head. "... From now on, no one will ever mention me. I, Ji Ming, am merely an old soldier under the gate of Master Liu."

Indeed, right now everyone hoped Duan Jiong's name would vanish completely, including Duan Jiong himself.

Silent, Qian Zhao picked up the saber and lopped off Zhang Sheng's head.

Then, he returned the saber to Duan Jiong's hands, addressing him as, "Mr. Ji."

He acknowledged himself as Duan Jiong's student... or rather, Ji Ming's student, and he had indeed learned many methods of training troops from him.

Qian Zhao was truly meticulous; with a single form of address, he conveyed all his intentions.

Duan Jiong took back his saber, patted Qian Zhao's shoulder, and spoke in a low voice. "Xuande has given you a great achievement. Go quickly to Wuzhong to report the merit."

Qian Zhao nodded, picked up Zhang Sheng's head, and asked Liu Bei, "Does Elder Brother have any other instructions?"

Liu Bei shook his head. "Go quickly and return soon. This place will be your future garrison; you will need to return and guard it."

Yes, the camp originally built under the pretext of reinforcing Zou Jing's missing numbers would inevitably become the true garrison headquarters for the Colonel Protecting the Wuhuan once Qian Zhao secured Zhang Sheng's head.

Qian Zhao led a small squad of soldiers and departed swiftly on horseback.

Liu Bei walked over to the remaining dozens of Zhang Sheng's subordinates.

"I said I would give you a chance, but from now on, you can no longer appear before people as living beings."

"From this day forth, you shall remain under Mr. Ji's command as dead men... I believe you all recognize him, and you all trust him."

"However... do not call him Sovereign anymore. He is Ji Ming, Mr. Ji."

"Who is your leader now? Step forward and let me see."

A young junior officer looked between Duan Jiong and Liu Bei, then stood up. "I am the Quhou of the Hundred-Rider Battalion, Zhang..."

"Forget your former name."

Liu Bei interrupted him. "From now on, your name is Zhang Hundred-Rider."

...

Everyone makes mistakes, in truth.

And everyone possesses some shining virtue.

Zhang Sheng had indeed committed grave evils; not only was he guilty, but he was also foolish, and committing suicide was no more than he deserved.

Yet Zhang Sheng also possessed true comradely loyalty, inspiring his brothers to live and die alongside him.

Duan Jiong had also committed countless sins, but Duan Jiong had rendered monumental service to the Han dynasty.

The Hundred-Rider Battalion had once been Duan Jiong's personal troops. After its formation, it fought over a hundred large and small battles, slaying thousands of Western Qiang in front and back lines, making it a meritorious unit with distinguished service to the state.

Had there not been strict obedience to orders, oneness of heart from top to bottom, and profound loyalty among comrades, this force could never have achieved such feats.

Yet this same Hundred-Rider Battalion had also waylaid commoners, raided commandery officials, and committed countless crimes... bearing equally heavy sins.

People are complex.

Liu Bei was no exception.

Liu Bei knew he could not be considered a truly good man, but he was certainly no villain either.

However... if someone were to kidnap his parents, wife, and child, and threaten him the way Zhang Sheng had been threatened, what would he do?

Liu Bei could not be certain.

That night, a light rain fell, and everyone's mood was gloomy.

Even Zhang Fei, usually carefree and unbothered, remained quiet without uttering a single word.

He, too, was pondering what exactly constituted good and evil, loyalty and treachery, righteousness and wickedness, principles and duty.

Zhang Fei thought about it all night, yet still failed to find an answer.

Repeatedly, in his mind's eye, he saw the image of Zhang Sheng's subordinates collectively taking their own lives.